Removing Mold Damage In Long Island

1/10/2018 (Permalink)

Mold is a quiet threat which can affect every apartment, condo or house on Long Island.

Removing Mold Damage

Mold is a quiet threat which can affect every apartment, condo or house on Long Island. Usually, mold spores are inactive. In this state, they are no more harmful than common, household dirt. Inactive spores are in virtually every structure in the city.

Remediating the effects of Long Island mold damage is not a short or simple process. To ensure every residence is clean, owners need to engage a service specializing in removing mold. SERVPRO has a set of four procedures designed to contain mold, clean mold from the property, remove it, and dry the home.

The first procedure is to install mold barriers. Our technicians cover every entrance to the infested area with plastic sheeting and use negative air pressure to force loose spores in the quickest direction out of the home. Installation includes covering the air vents to prevent accidentally spreading the mold to other areas of the home. We also use the sheeting to create a clean room, if needed, for storing tools and protective gear.

Now, we clean the mold off surfaces. There are two types, non-porous like glass, plastics, and metal, and porous surfaces such as carpets, drywall, and fabrics. Non-porous surfaces are simpler to wipe down and clean. In many cases, SERVPRO can even do this inside the contaminated area. Our specialists remove most spores on these surfaces with a dry sponge or use an anti-fungal cleaner to dampen thick layers and then wipe them down.

Porous surfaces are more difficult to clean. If the mold has been in place for an extended period, it may not be possible to clean them, even with a strong detergent and a brush to agitate the surface, loosening the mold layers.

With both types of surfaces, we use vacuums with specially designed HEPA filters to trap mold spores after cleaning. For property we could not clean, we remove and dispose of according to state regulations along with the collected mold spores.

Our last procedure is to dry the affected area of the home and any property that we had to dampen to remove mold spores. Drying is necessary to reduce moisture which also reduces the chance of future mold growth. In most cases, we set up dehumidifiers to draw enough moisture from the air and surrounding property.

Cleaning and removing mold from your home can be a time-consuming and costly process. At SERVPRO of Kingsport / Bristol, we have more than twenty years of restoring homes to their original condition. For further information about our procedures, call us at (423) 245-5552 today.

Click here for more about Long Island.